FOXBOROUGH – Tom Brady hasn't taken a beating like this in more than a decade, and back then he was essentially a spry rookie able to shake off
the blows.

Brady's now 36 with some mileage on the odometer, wears a
brace on his knee and takes a little bit longer to shake off the pain when a
320-pound defensive tackle busts through the line and bowls him over. But that
doesn't mean he and his offensive line are taking extra precautions to
protect him. Or maybe they are, and the formula just
isn't working.

The Patriots quarterback has been sacked 26 times this
season, seventh most in the NFL. The figure alone isn't staggering until you
realize that Brady was sacked 27 times during the 2012 season, and the 2.88
sacks per game New England is allowing is the most Brady has ever suffered, topping the 2.73 sacks per game he took as a first-year starter.

It's a problem the Patriots are aware of and are working to fix.

"Believe me, I understand that," offensive line coach Dante
Scarnecchia said during the bye week. "So what is it? I think that I probably
have to do a better job coaching and getting them to do things better."

Some of the onus falls on the offensive line, which has been
uncharacteristically spotty this season. While handing out check marks for
whose man records a sack isn't a perfect measure for performance -- since several factors may contribute to someone getting beat, such as how long the quarterback holds onto
the ball -- everyone on the offensive line has had less-than-stellar moments

Center Ryan Wendell has allowed four sacks after
surrendering five last season, and right guard Dan Connolly has surrendered two
after giving up three last season. Even left tackle Nate Solder, who has been a
model of consistency since taking over for Matt Light, has given up five sacks after allowing four last season.

The most surprising numbers, however, belong to Logan
Mankins. The usually sturdy left guard has allowed seven sacks, a
staggering figure considering his previous production. Mankins allowed only two
sacks last season, and five in 2011 (including the playoffs). The left guard claims to have played the 2011 with a torn ACL.

His struggles this season haven't necessarily been the
result of poor technique. He surrendered three sacks against Miami,
two on which he was simply beaten by tackle Jared Odrick.
Those kind of letdowns are rare for a player of Mankins' caliber.

Speaking for the group, Mankins said he believes the
underlying issue is a lack of consistency.

"Sometimes we've gotten beat working together, sometimes
it's been one-on-one," he said. "I don't think we've all had a bad game at
once. I think it's been one guy here, one guy there."

However, coach Bill Belichick believes everyone
involved in the passing game has caused the number of hits on Brady to rise this season.

"I'd say overall our passing game hasn't been as productive
as it's been at other points in previous years," he said. "So it's a combination
of everything. I don't think it's any one – that's part of it and there are
other parts of it, too. Overall production isn't where we want it to be or
where it's been at some other points in time."

Some of the issues Brady has had with his receiving
corps until recently have also been a factor. Brady has held
the ball a few tenths of a second longer per attempt than he did last season, when he
had the fastest trigger in the NFL, according to ProFootballFocus.com.

That alone does not say much. But after reviewing all of New
England's passing plays this season, an internal study found that Brady has
held the ball for more than three seconds on 67 of his attempts this season,
and more than 3.75 seconds on 27 attempts. What this indicates is that there
have been times this season when his receivers have not gotten open fast
enough.

There are several factors that figure into how quickly
a quarterback targets a receiver, such as which read they are and the depth of
their route. Among regular receivers, Danny Amendola (2.34 seconds), Kenbrell
Thompkins (2.35) and Rob Gronkowski (2.50) have the longest times per target.
Julian Edelman (2.07) and Aaron Dobson (2.19) are at the opposite end of that
spectrum.

A faster trigger would likely deter some of the sacks, but this
aspect of the offense isn't the chief culprit. After reviewing
the 26 sacks, it appears that seven were the result of quality coverage from
the defense and two were the result of Brady's indecisiveness. The rest were
either the result of a blitz or the result of spotty play by the offensive
line.

So, to a degree, Belichick is correct in his assessment that
the letdowns can be traced to all elements of the offense. But while facing
a bunch of quality pass-rushing teams hasn't helped, it appears Mankins was
closer to the mark when stating that the offensive line needs to become more
consistent.